Subject: Re:: very loooong OD personal report
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 20:27:37 EDT
From: Thewashman@aol.com
This run is the fourth 100 mile run in a series of ten that I will be
running in 1999.
I am calling my running odyssey the DecaCent (10 one hundred milers).
Starting in 1979 and patterned after the Western States 100 (which also
started as a horse endurance ride), the Old Dominion 100 Mile Endurance Run
is the second oldest 100 miler in the country. Because of its history, I had
been planning to run this race for years but, because of bad timing and some
bad publicity, I have not yet gotten around to it. Al Catalano, from my
running club, and Gary Freedman, from my area, ran the race last year and
dispelled any notion of the race not being well-run. Also, since I was going
to attempt the Grand Slam, I had to do the original four races and that meant
the Old Dominion. I would recommend this race to anyone, especially those
interested in the historical aspect of our sport; however, the great amount
of dirt road running will make the sections of trail very difficult.
The race starts at 4:00AM at the fairgrounds in Woodstock, VA, just
off I-81.
The first four miles is on asphalt until you begin the climb to Woodstock
Tower. The
climb is over three miles of steep switchbacks and is best walked. You then
start a long downhill to the start of the Boyer loop. The Boyer loop is the
first encounter with trail and it is a good indoctrination to the Massanutten
Mountain trails. For those who have run the OD and are contemplating the
Massanutten 100, this section is a sample of what most of that race is like.
The Boyer loop ends with a road section back to the same aid station that you
passed going into the loop. From there, you follow rolling dirt roads
reminiscent of the Vermont 100 until you reach the first handler station at
19.64 miles. I arrived just under four hours, which was my goal. I grabbed
a jelly sandwich and took off along more rolling dirt road.
At 22.71 miles, you cross the main road through Fort Valley and start
up St.
David Road. This section is a slightly rolling road which is exposed to the
sun for most of its length. I was thankful that the race was when it was as
a major heat wave moved into the East Coast on Sunday and it reached near 100
degrees on Monday. I got through that section before it became too warm and
trudged along the last couple of paved miles to the Four Points aid station
at 32.55 miles and around 6:45 into the race. I had fallen about 45 minutes
behind my goal but was still comfortably under a 24 hour pace.
I knew most of the next section from the MMT 100. It starts by going
up the trail
to the overlook (which we go down at MMT) and by running down the steep paved
road and then entering Duncan Hollow on the Massanutten Mountain East Trail.
The heat was beginning to become a factor at this point. Last year, the
Peach Orchard aid station, at 38.67 miles, was missing due to a death in the
family of the aid station crew and the message did not reach the race
management. Runners had to go from 32.55 miles to Crisman Hollow Road at
43.13 miles before receiving aid. Last year was relatively cool. If that
had happened this year, it would have been a disaster. The section leading
to Peach Orchard isnít too difficult but, between there and where you descend
to Crisman Hollow Road, the trail was a very difficult, hot and rocky
ascent.
I began to pay the price for trying to break 24 hours. Upon reaching the
aid station, I discovered that they had run out of water. I had to fill my
bottle with Powerade for the road section back to Four Points. As I was
heading to Four Points, the resupply vehicle was heading to the Crisman
Hollow aid station with more water. Even the aid stations were suffering
from the heat of that last section. They offered me water as they went by
but I declined as I was only a mile from Four Points. I arrived there, at
mile 47.7, over ten and one half hours into the race and over an hour past
my goal.
The next 3.22 miles is mostly uphill. I was familiar with the last
three miles of it
as it is the same climb as in the MMT 100 although this time I was doing it
in the
daylight. On the climb, I passed the fifty mile mark in around 11:15. At
this point, I
knew that sub-24 hours was probably not going to happen and I hit a low point
mentally. I knew that I had lost track of the big picture (the goal of
finishing the ten hundred milers) and may have sacrificed it by trying to
push myself to break 24 hours. I wanted to run each race without worrying
about any of the others but I now know that I have to keep the big picture in
mind as well as trying to do my best at each race. There were times earlier
in the day when I should have backed off a little but refused to do so
because of the chance to break 24 hours.
From the Mountain Top aid station in the MMT 100, we head for the Short
Mountain section. In OD, we head for Edinburg Gap along the dirt road. We
had been going uphill for nearly 3 miles to Mountain Top but there were at
least 3 more miles to go before it leveled. Just before the Edinburg Gap aid
station, I saw a flag of the same color as was being used to mark our course
off on the Massanutten West Trail that I knew lead to Edinburg Gap. Even
though there were no flags at its intersection with the road (and because we
went this way in the MMT 100), I started down this trail. I saw another flag
farther down the trail but then, when I got to an intersection, I didnít see
any flags. This course had been too well marked for this to happen so I knew
I had made a wrong turn. Sometimes, too much knowledge of a course can be
dangerous. If I hadnít known that the trail went to Edinburg Gap, I wouldnít
have followed it and covered an extra mile or so. When I returned to the
road and rounded a bend, there was a course marker and I headed into the aid
station at 56.57 miles at over 13:20 into the run.
I had started the race using my Asics 2040ís because of all the road
sections but now I felt like I needed a change of shoes. I was going to wait
until Elizabeth Furnace to put on my Montrail Vitesseís but decided to wear
them now. The ATV road that follows the Edinburg Gap aid station is
extremely rough and rutted and the initial climb is relentless. Once you
finally reach the top, the rest of the way to Little Fort is rolling Jeep
road. As rough as the ATV road was, I did see a young couple in a Jeep
bouncing up the road. I asked them if they were wearing kidney belts as the
Jeep was bouncing like a bucking horse.
At Little Fort, Paula, my wife and handler, was there waiting with a double
cheeseburger. It tasted great. I needed the energy it gave me as there is a
long climb after exiting the aid station. At the top of the climb there is
an intersection. If you were to go left, you are less than eight miles from
the finish. Unfortunately, I had to turn right and was more than 34 miles
from the finish. This section consists of rolling dirt roads until the
Mudhole Gap aid station at 69.48 miles. You then enter a section of single
and double track trail with several stream crossings and only a couple of
small climbs. You can cross the streams without getting wet; however, had
there been any recent rains, things may have been very different. I reached
Elizabeth Furnace at mile 74.95 at 18:50 into the race (10:50 at night).
This is the only station with a cutoff time. You need to clear this station
by midnight in order to continue. I can attest that this is a very fair
cutoff time. If it took you twenty hours to get this far, you will not
finish the last 25 miles in eight hours.
I had used my Mini-Mag flashlight to get me into Elizabeth Furnace
but took my
double-D Maglight for the next section. The trail section from the aid
station is not very well defined but I didnít have too much trouble following
it. Going through this section in daylight is a great advantage but I didnít
get the chance. The climb is nearly three miles uphill over a very rocky
trail. After cresting the hill and starting down the other side, the
daylight advantage could have been realized. The trail was fairly runable
but was made difficult because of the darkness. I made fairly good progress
and reached the dirt road that lead to our next climb. The dirt road and the
next climb occur early in the MMT 100 but this time I get to do the climb at
night and 82.79 miles into the run. The climb isnít difficult in the MMT 100
but seems to take quite some time now. The descent on the other side has
good and bad sections and I try to push a little because time is getting
short. I finally reach the Veach West aid station, 86.58 miles, in just
under 24 hours. I have four hours for the next 13.5 miles. I change into my
Sauconyís and, even though it is 4:00AM, I drop off my big flashlight. I
decide to run in the dark and use my Mini-Mag light only if necessary. I
tell Paula not to bother going to the other handler stations but to go to the
finish and Iíll wake her as I run by the car on my way to circling the
racetrack.
Much of the next sections were run at various points during earlier
parts of the
race. I finally make the climb to the intersection where earlier I had to
turn right to do
the last 34 miles. This time I turn left and head for the Woodstock Tower
aid station at 93.16 miles. Time is getting very tight now and I am forced
to push as hard as I can down the 3 miles of switchbacks to the paved road
and the final four miles to the finish. There were several of us working for
that finish and we all made it. As I entered the fairgrounds, I woke Paula
and then circled the track to get my finish. I crossed the line at 27:27
with less than 33 minutes to spare. I had pushed too hard in the middle
miles and, as a result, had to push hard near the end to make the cutoff. I
was exhausted and a bit disappointed but was glad that I finished. I got a
quick massage and, a rarity for me, decided to forgo the awards ceremony and
go to bed. At OD, they only give awards to those under 24 hours so I figured
that I wouldnít force myself to try and stay awake any longer. I was later
able to appreciate my finish. With the first four hundred milers out of the
way, I look forward to my next challenge, Western States.
I was able to meet five of the other six runners who are attempting
the Last Great
Race (Old Dominion, Western States, Vermont, Leadville, Wasatch and Angeles
Crest). They are Janine Duplesis WA (who is going for her second consecutive
Grand Slam), Karl Jensen BC, Leon Draxler WA, Ed Bogess CO and Stan Jensen CA
(whose run100s web site keeps us all up to date on hundred mile races). I
will be seeing a lot of them this summer and wish them all the best of luck
in their quests.